I was late in coming around to the Adventure Island series. For some reason I was obsessed with the first game until I played it. That’s when I realized it was Wonder Boy in all but name and I was not fond of that game. But the sequels and especially this particular title redeemed it in my eyes. Super Adventure was among the first SNES titles I played so it left a lasting impression. The music and graphics were enough to make it the best in the series to me at first. But over time the missing quality of life improvements the NES sequels provided has brought it down a bit. Still a good time but it comes up short compared to its 8-bit brethren.
Mechanically Super Adventure Island is very similar to the previous games. Master Higgins still has a meter that ticks down and is replenished by fruit. The weapon selection has been pared down to just two, the throwing axe and boomerang. Collecting multiples of each powers it up further, eventually imbuing them with fire. The boomerang is by far the best weapon as it can be tossed in every direction. One new mechanic has been added, the super jump. By pressing down before leaping you’ll catch some air, a nice and simple but crucial mechanic.
Super Adventure Island was released around the time of Adventure Island III for the NES. As much as I like the improved production values it can be viewed as a regression. With so few weapons and no helpers you no longer need to keep an inventory of items. The cool animal helpers are nowhere to be found which is also a huge blow. They added some much needed variety and also influenced the level design for the better.
As a result this can be viewed as a back to basics approach to the series. While the loss of mechanics that added depth sucks at least the game is good at what it does. Everything moves at a brisk pace despite Master Higgin’s portly gut. The occasional skateboard makes it even faster. The levels aren’t too long and possess some amount of variety although they start to repeat themselves toward the end. The controls can be finicky at times, namely the timing of the super jump. This doesn’t become an annoyance until the ending stages where it is essential to progress. Despite these annoyances this is a solid but enjoyable little romp.
With fifteen or so levels this is shorter than the later games in the series. Even the first game had thirty two levels total. In this case though I feel its relative brevity works in its favor. I feel like some of the later games, specifically Adventure Island III were too long for their own good. There were a large number of stages per island but they dragged on too long and were repetitive. There is a great deal of variety in settings and the game never overstays its welcome. That might be disappointing to some but I think the game is of the appropriate length.
As a near launch title Super Adventure Island received a significant visual boost for its 16-bit debut. The tropical theme literally pops with the SNES’s expanded color palette. You’ll visit many of the standard video game tropes except they look great. It can be a little bit inconsistent at times with the occasional flat backdrop but those are rare. The gratuitous use of Mode 7 really stands out and is completely unnecessary but eh, it’s a new game on a new platform.
The music might be the single most impressive aspect of the game. The light preppy tunes of games past have given way to a soundtrack full of island funk and hip hop beats. The series has always been built on its island theme and the music finally reflects that. It’s a very varied soundtrack that even uses the occasional record scratch and ad lib to great effect. Composer Yuzo Koshiro put in a lot of work on the SNES early on and Super Adventure Island is one of his highlights.
In Closing
The missing features are sorely missed and it is a bit short. Overall Super Adventure Island is a worthwhile entry in the series. Not quite as good as some of its predecessors but a good time nonetheless.
